The
Warren Spahn Statue Story
by
Darl DeVault
photo by Richard T. Clifton
Darl DeVault is the publicist for the Oklahoma Sports Museum, and he sent
me this background piece to a press release about the only showing of the
nine-foot bronze Warren Spahn Statue before it was officially unveiled and
dedicated at Turner Field in Atlanta in August 2003.
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The Warren Spahn Monument story actually begins
with the Shannon Miller Monument. Edmond sculptor Shan Gray used a tall area at
the rear of the west gallery of the Oklahoma Sports Museum (OSM) as a studio to
sculpt the clay phase of the 18-foot Shannon Miller Monument. The size of the
project forced Gray to find a temporary studio taller than his own in downtown
Edmond, OK.
The OSM is the state’s official sports museum honoring Oklahoma's rich athletic heritage in professional and Olympic sports. The museum is the first to assume statewide responsibility of preserving the sports legacy of Oklahoma. Located in the center of the state in Guthrie, the non-profit museum has numerous artifacts from many of Oklahoma’s outstanding athletes on display.
Gray sculpted the statue honoring Edmond's most famous athlete, Miller, in 18 months at the museum. Foundry artisans then cast the silicate bronze statue in the "Lost Wax" method. This was done in stages during a two-month period supervised by John Free Jr., of the Bronze Horse Foundry in Pawhuska, OK. It was then erected in Shannon Miller Park in Edmond.
OSM publicist Darl DeVault worked closely with Gray to publicize the progress on the Miller statue. As the public learned more about the project, the museum also garnered publicity as the host studio.
Meanwhile, DeVault was writing a profile of Hall of Fame pitcher Spahn for an appearance Spahn was to make at the museum on his next birthday. He made several trips to Spahn’s home in Broken Arrow, OK, to interview the former Braves’ ace for the profile.
On a return trip from Spahn’s home, DeVault formulated the idea of the OSM creating an annual Warren Spahn Award to honor the best left-handed pitcher in the major leagues each season. He envisioned the award would honor the over-looked lefties, and remind the public of Spahn’s achievement of being the winningest lefty in MLB history with 363 wins. It would also help raise funds for the museum.
After seeing the world-class quality of the bronze maquette, or concept miniature, of the heroic sculpture of Miller, he also had the idea of the museum commissioning a maquette of Spahn. He thought a maquette of Spahn would be the best way to honor the Braves ace when presented as the award. He shared this idea with OSM founder, President and Executive Director Richard Hendricks and presented it at the next OSM board meeting. The board saw the potential for the award, but also wanted an option of commissioning a larger-than-life monument.
On Sept. 3, 1998, the OSM sent a request for artist’s bids to the media to announce a competition for a design and creation of a one-and-a-quarter-size bronze heroic sculpture depicting Spahn. Gray’s charcoal-drawing design of Spahn in his signature high-kicking windup using Spahn’s favorite photo of himself was selected by the museum. Gray, 46, then worked closely with Spahn, 82, to sculpt a two-foot clay maquette.
"I have sculpted many noteworthy people," Gray said. "But in this case, it was truly an honor to work with such a witty and remarkable fellow (Spahn). To think he served under fire in WWII with distinction, and came back to leave such an indelible mark on the major leagues. I came away admiring the man as much as the athlete."
Gray soon shared his vision of the monument when he unveiled his maquette of Spahn at the museum during a reception honoring Spahn on his birthday. The reception was held in connection with Guthrie’s 89’er Day celebration, where he was the parade marshal in April of 1999.
Meanwhile, the Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum & Hall of Fame at Turner Field in Atlanta began inducting athletes in 1999, including Spahn in that inaugural group. Built to feature more than 500 Braves artifacts from their beginning in Boston (1871-1952), to Milwaukee (1953-65), to Atlanta (1966-present), it honors ballplayers, managers and coaches. It also honors those who have made an exceptional contribution to the Braves’ franchise.
The Braves also built a Monument Grove at Turner Field, a large, park-like area next to the Braves’ ticket windows to display special statues. The Braves moved the Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Ty Cobb statues from Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to the area, along with the bust of Hank Aaron. Trees, park benches and picnic tables scattered throughout the Grove make it an ideal meeting place for fans and friends. It also features the retired number statues of the five Braves so honored — Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Aaron, Niekro and Dale Murphy. Jackie Robinson is also honored there because his number is retired by all MLB franchises.
When Randy Johnson won the Warren Spahn Award the first year in 1999, Hendricks sent a news release to the Braves. After Johnson accepted the award at the inaugural award dinner in Guthrie, Hendricks sent a photo by OSM photographer Richard T. Clifton to the Braves.
Gary Caruso, Atlanta Braves ChopTalk editor, ran the photo and a story about the tribute to Spahn and its first honoree in the Braves’ official monthly magazine. This sparked an idea in Caruso, who has been a Spahn fan since he was 8 years old and growing up in East Liverpool, Ohio. He invited Hendricks to attend a Braves Hall of Fame induction. Hendricks traveled to Atlanta with the museum’s maquette of the Spahn statue to help Caruso create more interest from Braves’ fans for the project.
With Braves’ approval and cooperation, Caruso formed the "Warren Spahn Statue Committee." They set out to raise $95,000 to fund a larger-than-life bronze statue of Spahn in the image created by Gray for the award. This was a deeply discounted amount for a monument of this size and quality because the sculptor and the OSM board wanted to see Spahn honored at Turner Field just as much as Caruso.
"For most of my life, I have been preaching the gospel of Warren Spahn," Caruso said. "The record book tells what a magnificent career he had, and his first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame in 1973 certifies his immortality. But in my mind, he is one of the most under-appreciated players in baseball history. His career was interrupted when he served in the Army and he spent most of his career far from the media spotlight in Milwaukee. He also had to share the public’s attention with Hall of Fame teammates Aaron and Mathews. And when the Braves moved from Milwaukee in 1966, his accomplishments were diminished to some degree by the franchise’s new ‘Atlanta Braves’ name and culture."
Caruso’s goal was to find donors like himself who considered it "an honor and a privilege" to help build a lasting memorial to "the greatest pitcher of all-time-- lefty or right-- when rating entire careers." The only incentive offered those giving $1,000 or more was they would have their names permanently engraved on a plaque on the base of the statue. The OSM gave $1,000 to the project soon after Caruso made the first donation.
Many of the biggest names in baseball history -- past and present -- answered Caruso’s call. Braves manager Bobby Cox, and players Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz are among those who made financial contributions to fund the statue. Former Brave Tom Glavine, now with the Mets, also contributed and served as spokesman for the fundraising campaign.
Other donors include former Braves Ernie Johnson, Phil Niekro, Red
Schoendienst and Joe Torre; Baseball
Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Bobby Doerr,
Stan Musial and Nolan Ryan. Five-time Cy
Young Award winner and four-time Warren Spahn Award winner Randy Johnson of the
Arizona Diamondbacks donated, along with recording artists Elton John and Mike
Mills of R.E.M.
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Oklahoma Sports Museum |
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this
article © 2003 by Darl DeVault |
A year and a half after fundraising began, the nine-foot silicate bronze monument of Spahn was cast in the "Lost Wax" method in stages by Bronze Horse Foundry artisans. It will be first shown to Oklahomans on Aug. 8, near the foundry in Pawhuska in a celebration hosted by the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce. The statue will then be taken to Georgia where it will be dedicated and unveiled Aug. 12 in Monument Grove at Turner Field. Spahn and many of the current Braves will be on hand for the dedication since it immediately follows the induction ceremony for Del Crandall, Spahn’s catcher, into the Braves Hall of Fame.
"Having this monument displayed in front of Turner Field will help emphasize Spahn’s place in Braves and baseball history forever," Caruso said. "It will remind thousands of visitors each year that Spahnie had an incomparable career-- quite possibly the greatest of all-time for a pitcher.
I will never forget the role the folks at the Oklahoma Sports Museum played in making this happen. Without their vision, and the talented sculptor’s and foundry artisans’ hard work, this statue would still be just a dream. Instead, we will all join Aug. 12 in saluting Warren Spahn and telling the world what a grand warrior he was on the baseball field."
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